COPD: Canada’s Growing Epidemic

Research and Innovations Treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is costing us billions in health care dollars every year.

0

shares //

share this page

0

0

0

0

0

n Canada, COPD is an epidemic that shows no sign of slowing. “Currently COPD is the number one cause of hospitalization in Canada, outside of pregnancy,” says Dr. Mark FitzGerald, Director of the Centre for Heart and Lung Health at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. “COPD exacerbation is the number one cause of repeat hospitalization. In the Vancouver Coastal Health network, COPD admissions represent about five to six percent of all acute hospital bed usage in the region. It’s a significant burden on the health care system.”

Dr. FitzGerald was one of several researchers who earlier this year co-authored a new study entitled The Projected Epidemic of COPD Hospitalizations Over the Next 15 Years: A Population Based Perspective. The study found that COPD hospitalization is likely to triple by 2030. “Prevalence is only going to increase,” says Dr. FitzGerald. “With the projections we have made in this study, it’s clear the burden will only become greater if we don’t do something about it. Even in a utopia where everyone stopped smoking tomorrow, we would still have this huge population cohort with 20 to 30 years or more of smoking history.”

To prevent the burden of hospitalization from overwhelming the health care system, we need to develop better options for treating the disease at home and in the community. “You obviously want to prevent people from being hospitalized with COPD, but even once they are hospitalized there has not historically been good continuity of care,” says Dr. FitzGerald. “By increasing support and especially continuity of care between the acute care system and the community, we have shown that we can prevent repeat hospitalizations and reduce the length of hospital stays.”

Commercial Feature

One promising new technology that has been
extending care to the home for some COPD patients is Oscillating
Positive Expiratory Pressure (OPEP) therapy. An OPEP device is a
drug-free treatment, similar in form factor to an asthma inhaler,
that helps to open patients’ airways, helps expel secretions and
may allow for better inhaler drug deposition. When used for up to
10 minutes twice a day, an OPEP device can naturally decrease
coughing frequency, reduce breathlessness, and help expel excess
mucus.

Rick Pratchett, a long-time sufferer of COPD, recently started
using an OPEP device called the Aerobika* device
at home and has seen remarkable results. “I have had a lot of
breathing problems due to COPD and Scoliosis,” says Pratchett.
“I would spend most of the winter on antibiotics for lung infections
and so far I’ve not had to deal with any of that. I sleep better;
my wife sleeps better not worrying if I’m still breathing; even our
dog is getting longer walks now. It’s a win-win for all of us.”

OPEP therapy, of course, is just one facet of the comprehensive
treatment plan that will be needed to deal with the COPD epidemic.
But, as a simple-to-use home therapy that is already helping some
patients breathe easier, it is providing hope that this is something
we as Canadians will be able to manage in the years to come.